South Korea president calls for probe into World Cup exit as coach resigns

South Korea's president Lee Jae Myung has called for the country's sports ministry to investigate the national team's World Cup group-stage exit, while head coach Hong Myung-bo announced his resignation Sunday.

President Lee said he was "utterly baffled" by the results and appeared to criticise the South Korean Football Association's appointment of Hong, alleging that "competence" had not been prioritised when selecting a leader.

Hong, a former defender who played 136 games for South Korea as a player, had held the coaching position since 2024. In his resignation statement, he said: "It was not an easy decision for me to take this role, but once I took it, I thought about nothing else except being responsible until the very last moment." He added that he took "all the responsibility" for the team's performance.

South Korea's World Cup campaign ended after two group-stage matches. The team lost 1-0 to Mexico in their opening fixture. In their second match against South Africa, they needed only a point to advance to the round of 32 but suffered a shock 1-0 defeat. South Africa progressed from the group instead.